All The King's Men
by Sarapercival333
Summary: This story is about how Natalie Kabra's life changed. Angsty. one-sided Dan/Natalie.


All The King's Men

Natalie Kabra knew how regret felt like. She knew how it would feel like even before she downed that fifth shot of whisky in an upscale bar in the posh part of London. The bar lights mingled with the patterns on her cat skin Louis Vuitton purse and cast off a kaleidoscope of art towards her eyes.

She tapped the barmaid for another shot. The barmaid looked at her wearily before asking, "Honey, are you sure, this has been your fifth."

She nodded numbly and watched as teenagers from affluent lineages piled into the bar one by one, intent on making the most of the night. The younger Kabra looked at her watch and saw that it was already half past nine.

"Of course they would be here at this time," she thought to herself.

Natalie wasn't exactly thinking when she decided to enter the bar around two hours ago. They had just opened and there were little people around. She remembered surveying the area with her eyes before settling on a metal stool bordering the bar counter. It was a stylishly-decorated bar with a dance floor in the middle of it and an entirely wall dedicated to the bar and the other wall as a standing area for people who just want to socialize. There was a polished wooden shelf containing all the drinks the bar had for the night.

"You okay there honey?" the blonde barmaid had asked. She had smiled wearily as a reply.

"Well, what can I get ya'?" the blonde had asked the Briton. She had an Irish accent and possessed a pair of dulling green eyes. She looked just about the same as Natalie's age.

"Vodka shot, 6 percent alcohol," she replied glumly.

"Okay, hon," said the barmaid before turning away from her to prepare her drink. Natalie Kabra had retrieved her smartphone to shut it down. She didn't want any further disruptions in her self-pity party.

After her third or fourth, strobe lights had started flashing and youngsters started filing in and some even had proceeded to dance. The Kabra sister looked like an outcast amidst the younger crowd.

She felt the throbbing numbness take full control of her mind after she downed her fifth shot of vodka for the night. After the shot glass was emptied, she gestured again for the barmaid, now entertaining more customers than when she first came here, to serve her another one. The woman looked at her and then served her another one.

In a minute, the glass had been emptied of its contents and she gestured for another one again.

"Honey, this will be your last one. Regulations can't allow me to serve you any more."

Natalie barely felt the fog took full hold of her mind before the world went black.

When she awoke, the first thing she saw was a pair of polished Italian leather shoes.

"Nat," said a baritone voice with a British accent to it. She felt a hand tug at her shoulder and her tired eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. "How many drinks did you have?'

"Maybe around seven shots of vodka," said a lighter, more feminine voice.

"My brother probably knows the bartender. Goddamn," she thought to herself.

She dragged her head off the bar counter and looked at her twenty-three karat sterling silver watch.

7:05 a.m.

"Hey there, I was worried about you," said her brother in a smooth British accent. He was wearing a stylishly-fitted Italian suit. His hair was slicked back, the same style he had employed ever since entering law school. It suited him nonetheless. The women he had dated oft described it as slick.

His face had matured from its previous boyish handsome looks to a man's chiseled features. In layman's terms, time had done him well.

"How long have you been searching for me?" she asked in a sleep-ridden tone.

"I think just about the entire night," he replied smoothly.

He had looked her up and down before saying, "You should probably change clothes, you know."

She looked at her wrinkled white, tailor-fitted Gucci suit. It certainly looked like it had been slept on, which it was. She stepped off the bar stool, barely keeping her weight for a few minutes before stumbling. Good thing her brother had caught her by her arm lest she fall flat on her face.

"I'll wait for you while you change so I can take you to the client that's waiting for us."

* * *

Natalie Kabra strode through the Cahill headquarters. She was heading to the filing room to retrieve some important Lucian files when she saw Dan Cahill dressed in his usual polo shirt and jeans. And as usual, he was chilling with his tech-geek girlfriend from IT. The girl's name was Mary Hollister. She had frizzy black hair that was always kept into a tight ponytail and dull blue eyes that had a pair of glasses above them. As her boyfriend, she always wore a pair of hoodies and jeans along with Converse.

"Public displays of affection aren't allowed inside the workplace," she stated as her heels clicked past them.

"You're just jealous Nat!" the jade-green eyed man shouted back with mirth. She whipped around and smiled playfully at the both of them. The girl perched on his lap had jumped off of him and was rearing herself for a playful banter.

The Kabra girl had only met the girl about twice and on both times, she had stroke the brunette as humble and playful.

It was part of Natalie's routine stop-by at the headquarters to tease them about their relationship. She recalled one time that Amy, the guy's sister, caught them canoodling in the janitor's closet. Natalie also recalled his sister giving a not-so-pleasant reaction to the issue.

"Why would I be jealous if I have a horde of male supermodels lining up to be my husband?" the beautiful Briton rebutted.

"You may have that," started Mary. "But I don't think they have the sense of humor Dan has."

"True," she confirmed. "Mostly, they're too afraid of their facelifts wearing off."

The trio laughed. After a minute, Natalie turned to walk toward her original destination.

"Bye Nat!" Dan had said with a certain kind of fondness in his voice. It stroke her with a certain kind of excitement. A few steps more and that excitement wore off and was replaced by a certain kind of sick feeling in her gut. She dismissed it as indigestion.

Looking back, the Kabra wondered if that was where it started.

The hungover Brit staggered clumsily through her apartment. The world seemed too bright. And it didn't help that she was wearing three-inch high heels. She grabbed the kitchen counter for support and took deep breaths.

At that same moment, she saw a cream-colored envelope sitting on the edge of the marble-topped counter. The same spot where she left it two days ago. The lid was open. The lady was just all-too familiar about its contents.

Natalie couldn't help but spew out all of the contents of her stomach. She couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

Natalie was perched on top of her marble counter, looking out at the view of the city her penthouse loft offered her. She palmed an envelope beneath her fingers. Finally, after a few moments, she opened it.

An invitation to this year's reunion.

She smiled.

Cahill reunions were always the highlight of her year. It was the time of the year when the men of the large family flocked together and tried to court her at different points of the party. Most of the time, she rejected them. But there were times when she allowed them to take her to lunch or coffee a day or two after. The relationships usually didn't last to a third date.

Still, it was quite entertaining to watch them try.

It was a nice break from the dumb models she dated all-year round.

She arrived at the reunion twelve o' clock sharp. The golden-eyed girl looked both regal and elegant in a white sundress and hat. She had stirred heads to her the moment she entered the bright ballroom.

About thirty minutes later, she already saw a blonde young man heading toward her. His kind eyes were met with her fiery ones. This one had an air of determination about him.

"Natalie?" he voiced out with an Australian accent. "If I'm not mistaken that is your given name."

She smiled coyly. This one was too arrogant.

"You aren't mistaken," she said in an elegant tone.

"How are you enjoying the party so far?" he had asked.

"Just fine," she muttered, a too-bright smile plastered over her feminine features.

"Where's your brother?"

"Oh, he couldn't attend this year because he had some business overseas to attend to," Natalie replied. "You know how busy he is."

"Of course, the Kabras are very prominent names in the art world," he stated. "Why aren't you with him?"

"Who do you think manages the business while he's away?"

On cue, they both laughed.

"Point taken," the man said.

A moment passed between them.

"Would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow?" he asked, smiling charmingly.

She was so used to this.

"I'm sorry, I have some business to attend to tomorrow," she turned around to walk away. She didn't exactly lie to him.

At that same moment, she ran into a certain dark-haired guy. Jade green eyes stared down on her in a friendly way.

"Another man down?" he asked casually.

"He stroke me as too arrogant."

"That's what you say every year."

"Isn't it true?"

He threw his head back and laughed in the most childish and at the same time, charming manner.

For a moment, she couldn't breathe properly. She didn't know if it was because of the champagne bubbling in her chest or from the way his eyes reflected off the sunlight in the most beautiful way possible.

Suddenly, the music started.

"Let's dance," he then took a hold of her delicate hand and brought her out into the dance floor where several Cahills started swaying.

They started to waltz to the music after a few moments. She could feel countless stares being focused on her.

She never felt so timid under a man's arms.

"Where's Mary?" she questioned. There was not one year he hadn't arrived with her on his arm since they had started dating.

Most people would say that they were the perfect couple.

"She had to go visit her dad in the hospital. He had a stroke," he said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

A few minutes passed in silence. Natalie was so close to him that she could pick out the specks of brown in his green orbs. It was like a beautiful painting.

Finally, the music stopped and it was time to pull away.

Why was it that her arms felt so cold without him?

She trailed after him like a smitten schoolgirl afterwards. They shared stories of their various adventures in life and laughed at each other's jokes. They had shared a table on a secluded corner of the ballroom and had sat there all throughout the reunion.

After the reunion ended, they headed to the front porch and smiled at each other.

"Thank you," both of them said simultaneously.

The moonlight reflected off his dark red hair beautifully.

That night, she dreamt of green eyes and champagne.

* * *

Ian, she, Amy, Dan, and the rest of the IT staff sat in Cahill HQ's third-floor ballroom. This was just one of those routine meetings where they review every single problem they had solved and discussed the new problems that had risen.

The Kabra lady was barely listening to what Amy was saying.

Instead, she was focused on the two hands that were linked from under the glass table across from her.

It irritated her for no apparent reason.

Out of the corner of her eye, her brother looked at her with full knowledge of what was going on.

On one of her consecutive visits to the HQ, she saw Dan hunched over a computer in his office. Alone.

She had knocked on his open door, unsure of what she was doing.

They had been meeting each other routinely for coffee for five months now.

And at the end of each meeting, the Briton had felt a certain kind of emptiness.

"Hey Dan," she started with a smile. This smile was unlike any smile she had given before. It wasn't meant to charm or to attract. And_ he_ was on the receiving end of it.

"Oh hey Nat," the man said in a friendly manner, turning from his computer to face her. His jade green eyes trailed her every movement.

She took a step forward into his room.

"How is the new firewall you're working on?" she inquired. She took another step.

"It's going along fine," he turned back toward his monitor. He used his other hand to pull out a foldable plastic chair out for her.

"Nice to hear," she sat on the plastic chair.

He turned back toward her, giving her his full attention.

"You look fresh today," the man with dark red hair stated.

"Nice to hear," the Kabra looked at the beautiful orbs that were his eyes. For a moment, she felt like she could just get lost in there. "Tell me about that firewall you're developing."

Daniel Cahill started babbling about technical stuff that she couldn't quite understand. She only half-listened and directed most of her focus instead on his lips as they moved animatedly.

A certain warmth filled her chest. It was the same warmth that made her grab his chin and seize his lips into a searing kiss.

He tasted of cherry lipstick (It was probably that other girl's lipstick.) and mint.

At that same moment, Mary popped out of nowhere.

The man shoved her away and flashed her with a look of confusion before hurrying over to his upset girlfriend's aid.

What had she done?

* * *

The beautiful Briton looked like an angel in a black pencil skirt and blue lady's polo. She nursed a cup of black coffee. Her hair was wet from her recent shower and her counter smelt of her vomit.

Her brother was waiting for her at her apartment's lobby. They had a clientele that was interested in a particular piece of Picasso art.

She traced the outline of the envelope with her fingers. Finally, she pulled out a card that read in elegant cursive letters:

_Dear Guest,_

_We invite you to the wedding of Daniel Arthur Cahill and Mary Claire Hollister. It will be held in the Rossalyn Chapel at 9 a.m. Below are the instructions to the wedding ceremony's location. We hope you attend._

She fished out a lighter from her purse and watched as flames licked the edges of the card.

Her voicemail flooded with the sound of his voice. She kept deleting message after message.

Natalie Kabra felt so helpless.

* * *

Several months later, she heard a knock on her apartment door. She remembered standing up to tend to the anonymous visitor.

She peeked through the small peephole and saw the handsome features of Daniel Arthur Cahill peeking out.

"What do you want?" she yelled through the door. The woman hadn't seen him for four months already. During that time, she had been recovering, slowly but surely, from the wreck she had been after their wedding.

"I forgive you," he replied.

"I didn't ask for your forgiveness," her voice cracked at the edge of the sentence.

A pause.

"Please let me in?" he pleaded.

Another pause.

She unlocked the door and Dan strode inside.

A silver wedding band glinted off his finger.

"What do you want?"

"It's not your fault," he started. "I know that I was selfish for not seeing-

Natalie barely heard the words that were falling out from his mouth. She knew he was doing this to make her feel better. But it only made her feel worse. Because it was her fault. And she deserved this.

"-but I want us to be friends again," he finished.

Tonight, he was dressed in a grey Gap sweater and a pair of faded blue jeans. She had never seen a man so attractive.

She smiled sadly.

"I love you," she felt her lips utter.

He looked away.

"I'm sorry," he said sadly.

She felt her world splinter for a second time.

"It's my fault," she declared. "Please tell Mary that I am deeply sorry for what I did."

"She forgives you too."

Natalie felt tears trickle down her face in steady streams.

It had been four months since the wedding. A year since the first time she _saw_ him in a brand new light.

She looked up at his face. He was so kind.

"Please get out," she barely felt the words tumble from her lips.

He obliged.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked her brother a day after.

"No," she stirred her coffee.

"Why him?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Natalie looked down at her reflection at the glass of the cafe. She liked this cafe particularly because it was the cafe she and Dan frequently held their rendezvous (Back when she didn't want to cry when she heard his name.).

Two months had passed since the last time she saw him. She also didn't dare step foot inside the Cahill HQ for fear of what she might _see _or feel in there.

Suddenly, a man sat on the chair in front of her. Her first instinct was to scowl at the person. A snappy comment was already at the tip of her tongue before she registered the identity of the man.

It was Dan Cahill. A moment spanned in silence.

"I'm sorry," she started.

"I know."

* * *

"I fell in love with him," Natalie started and watched as Ian paused in stirring his coffee. They were in the same cafe she last convened with one Daniel Arthur Cahill three months ago. (The olive-skinned woman felt like it was a millennium ago.)

"I don't know exactly when it started but-

The elder Kabra nodded. He dared not comment but instead chose to listen to what his sister had to say. After all, it took her quite a long time just to say those two sentences.

"Am I a bad person Ian?"

Ian Kabra was sincere when he uttered this single word.

"No."

With that, Natalie felt her face fold into a genuine smile. For the first time in a very long while that she felt her sins drop and the world float away in a peaceful, beautiful kaleidoscope of colors.

(And she knew that she was a little less broken now and a little stronger than before.)

Disclaimer: I don't own the 39 Clues or anything associated with it.


End file.
